Obama Aides Rip Cable News, D.C. Media And Political Elite
Here’s an interesting dynamic: The yawning gap between what the pundits say about who’s winning the stimulus war and what the polls say the public thinks has created an opening for the Obama team to reclaim Obama’s campaign outsider mantle, which had slipped away during the transition to governing.
Case in point: White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, on the presidential plane today, directly targeted cable news as out of touch with America when asked about polling on the stim package. From the White House transcript:
I think it’s illuminating because it may not necessarily be where cable television is on all of this. But, you know, we’re sort of used to that. We lost on cable television virtually every day last year. So, you know, there’s a conventional wisdom to what’s going on in America via Washington, and there’s the reality of what’s happening in America.
That’s not all. In response to another question about Obama’s scheduled rally today in Elkhart, Indiana, Gibbs directly attacked the White House press corps. “We’ll get to measure whose questions were better over the course of the day — the voters of Elkhart or the reporters of Washington,” Gibbs says.
There’s still more. According to the pool report, senior Obama adviser David Axelrod ran with this ball on the campaign plane, too, saying that the new Gallup poll proves how out of touch Beltway insiders are.
“If I had listened to the conversation in Washington during the campaign for president, I would have jumped off a building about a year and a half ago,” Axelrod said.
Obviously there’s a bit of shtick going on here. Still, the Obama team is clearly embarking on a new and more aggressive strategic effort to draw attention to the size of his popular mandate and paint Washington as a place designed to obstruct the public’s will. As Josh Marshall noted recently, Obama hadn’t been tapping the real source of his power — his popular support — as well as he might have. The Obama team is clearly trying to change that.
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Virtually all of the Sunday Morning journalists lined up with the Republicans yesterday in favor of lining their own pockets with more tax cuts. Evidently a disqualifying factor for Sunday Morning Punditry is passing an Econ 101 class. It’s kind of embarrassing to know we have so many blow-dried dimwits in charge of our political discourse. Gotta hand it to George S, though, at least he correctly identified “getting work” as a “job.” That’s actually more astute than Cokie Roberts and Sam Donaldson were, last week.
I’m beginning to like Gibbs.
Thats what I call AWESOME SAUCE.
The Daily Show has been mocking the mainstream media for the last 8 years – I’m glad this new White House has caught on. With the exception of their Katrina coverage, the news media did little substantive, real-time questioning of Bush policies. It was only when he truly became a lame duck that they started digging his grave. Too little, too late in my book.
Gibbs should just start calling these MSM shills the “dittohead” media and the “drudged” media. That is where they so obviously get their cue. Gibbs should arrange for this to be branded on their sorry asses.
Dan P wrote: “I’m beginning to like Gibbs.”
We’re in agreement. I think he’s a real talent.
This thrust greg describes is necessary. Part of what the Obama folks are going to have to change (unless they want to be battered daily with the irrelevant and the irrational swings of pundits’ fashionable thoughts) is to direct attention back on them and on how they operate. It is the case, I think, that if the media folks remain as unreflective as they have been, they won’t serve the polity well.
That this might be a tough goal to achieve doesn’t invalidate its importance.
Speaking of blow-dried dim bulbs, John King “wonders if a construction project one mayor is proposing (a community wave pool) will actually create jobs.” (via http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200902090011?show=1) Uh, no, John, that’s work, not jobs. Dittohead media, that’s a good name for it. Evidently King gets all his material from Drudge and Limbaugh.
They need to recognize, and maybe they are, that the Village media is just as much the enemy as the GOP.
President Obama just said he wants the education funding back into the Senate bill. Thats going to put some pressure under Snowe and Collin’s a$$es.
President Obama is the one who lead the way, when he referred last week to “cable chatter” criticizing the stimulus.
I think it’s time for Jon Stewart to go on every talking head show and intone, “stop it. You’re hurting America.”
Gibbs is exactly right about the media. They’ve been trashing the bill and allowing Republicans to spout inaccuracies and downright lies (I’m talking to you Ensign and Steele) with no pushback.
We — you and me — need to turn off cable “news” and propaganda, then let them you have.
I’m guessing Obama had his surrogates muzzled before now. And it’s interesting that they’re attacking the messenger rather than the GOP message. I’m afraid I have to agree with Krugman who fears Obama hasn’t learned anything from this stimulus fiasco.
Still just talk. I would suggest Obama’s people start organizing direct action. How about a weatherization barnraising on the White House with the participation of “This Old House” and “Extreme Home Makeover”? We’ve been doing monthly weatherization barnraisings in Cambridge, MA for the past six months. That 13 million person email list could be used to replicate that activity throughout the nation. That would provide a grassroots stimulus and show the politicians that they either help or get the hell out of the way.
It’s kind of embarrassing to know we have so many blow-dried dimwits in charge of our political discourse.
They’re not dim witted in my opinion, just greedy and unashamed about it.
I an no longer watch cable news coverage over this stimulus debate. Aside from parroting the party line of failed Republican economic policy, the networks seem allergic to inviting actual economist on their shows to debate the merits. I don’t care what Chris Mathews, Mika, or Joe Scarborough think about economic policy. Bring on some people who know what they are talking about so that we can make some informed decisions.
I’m guessing Obama had his surrogates muzzled before now. And it’s interesting that they’re attacking the messenger rather than the GOP message.
Purple, I am not sure if you watch much cable news but if you did it would be evident that the media is carrying the message of Republicans and Republicans alone.
The polling showing Obama winning the hearts and minds of JohnQ came from Gallop and the Republican’ts will just brand it as liberal propaganda. Watching this crew of Republican’ts is like watching someone lie on a bed with a 22 cal pistol and ping away at their toes.
When the messenger is changing the message to disproportionately benefit one side, they’re worth attacking. The GOP message sucks (and I agree with most of Krugman’s analysis) but so does the mainstream media, which has been fairly irresponsible.
As a HRC primary voter, I tend to disagree that the “obama team lost on cable new every night.” It is kinda laugable actually. Did he ever watch “Countdown”? Havign said that, The GOP is acting like children.
How long until the media publishes this obligatory pushback story:
“Change we can believe in??…how Obama’s treatment of the press is similar to Bush”
It totally makes sense to start pasting the press corps, and make them squirm some. Those people have the anttention span of a swarm of mosquitos, and even thought they often wrong, no one ever seems to notice.
Just give the Obama people a few more days to get rolling. Everyone is running around claiming the success of failure of this president after what, 10 working days?
He won the election on slow and steady execution. I am hoping we will see that pattern repeat, once everyone is on board and everyone is rowing in the same direction.
The media has been AWFUL on this topic – it’s all who’s winning and who’s losing and not a word about what spending is most stimulative and how fast it can get into the economy.
Yeah, welcome pushback on this alarming disconnect. Props to George S, for his unvarnished astonishment, having to follow Steele’s logic. Speaking of this disconnect, weird that even NPR, in its roundup of political news on Sunday, used only Rep. Pence in a clip, not Barney Frank, whose views actually make economic sense.
dgahl, I was an Obama supporter, and you are absolutely right about Hillary getting hit hard later in the primary campaign. But I also remember Joe Scarborough saying there was no way, no how, Obama would ever beat Hillary at the beginning of the campaign.
Most talking heads make way more than 250K/year, so they have a built-in bias in favor of GOP tax cuts for the rich. And it’s sure obvious now. Obama is smart to use the bully pulpit to counter their failed ideas.
Just a tiny point. It’s not “the campaign plane,” it’s Air Force One!
Speaking of this disconnect, weird that even NPR, in its roundup of political news on Sunday, used only Rep. Pence in a clip, not Barney Frank, whose views actually make economic sense.
How is that conceivably “weird that even NPR” gives much greater exposure to right-wing nutjobs than it does anyone to the left of Collins/Snowe? Have you been out of the country for the last decade? Or do you just never listen to NPR news?
The idea that there are still folks out there who believe that NPR is somehow liberal staggers the imagination.
You’re right, of course, ibc. And I do listen to NPR pretty regularly, but only in the car when I’m running errands. I was particularly struck by the skewed NPR reporting yesterday because I had watched both This Week and MTP very closely earlier in the day–watched the disconnect in action–and for some irrational reason thought the producers might balance the execrable Pence with the coherent Frank. No such luck of course.
Nice move. It’s hard to believe at this late date, but some people (who are not absolute crazed wignuts) still honestly believe in the liberal bias meme when the opposite is closer to the truth. Pols always have to be careful when taking on people who buy ink by the barrel, but this seems well within limits to me.
When GWB’s approval rating was hitting 40% and trending down the villagers were still calling him a popular president. And he was — in the village.
Now we see the opposite happening.
At some point Obama’s team will need to point it out. 85% of elite Washington media belong to the economic Republican faction. That is, they have no patience for the great unwashed wacko masses that make up the Republican base, but they are aligned with the Republican party on the issues that the Republican elites care about.
I don’t think it’s enough to simply note that the electronic news media are dysfunctional in this way. If we really want a better, fully functional news media of real value, it might be more important to investigate *why* they are they way this way.
He is going to piss off the villagers by not stroking their huge egos. Then they will accuse him of destroying “their” town and start a relentless war against him by making stuff up. Just ask Mr. Clinton.
Max wrote: “If we really want a better, fully functional news media of real value, it might be more important to investigate *why* they are they way this way.”
It doesn’t take a whole lot of investigation. A handful of giant corporations own virtually all of the mass media in the USA — both the so-called “mainstream” media and the so-called “conservative” media. And they use the mass media that they own and control to propagandize the American people in furtherance of their agenda — which is the agenda of class warfare by the ultra-rich corporate aristocracy against everyone else. There is nothing complicated or mysterious about it.
Gibbs is the worst White House Press Secretary ever. Axelrod is nuts: the media has been in the tank for Obama for over a year and they are the one’s who got him elected. And for those who are getting your news from John Stewart and Jay Leno — what do you know about anything?
I totally agree with Gibbs, and glad that he is saying this about MSM. It is all about drama and creating controversy to rile the public to think that the sky is falling, every hour of every day.
Enough! I took the time to read both versions of the Stimulus bill and the one that most likely will pass the Senate is taking some money from certain parts, but not all of it. This bill will go along way to help this country. How many of the MSM well enough the Congress have read the entire bill?
Good for them. The level of cluelessness on the cable news shows is unbelievable. They’ve gone beyond their previous stage of not helping to a new stage of actively making things worse.
And for those who are getting your news from John Stewart and Jay Leno — what do you know about anything?
Excellent question. And the answer–at least as far as Jon Stewart is concerned–is *objectively* more than those who get their news from any other TV news source.
And that is truly scary.
There’s a part of me that wants the Republicans to reject the Senate bill…
Then the only sane option would be to apply the nuclear option to the 60 vote rule.
And then the real fun begins — can you say Fairness Doctrine?
And for those who are getting your news from John Stewart and Jay Leno — what do you know about anything?
According to a Pew Research Center poll, regular viewers of The Daily Show are the best informed about political events. The worst informed? Those who watch Fox News.
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/16/daily-show-fox-knowledge/
There are a few books that detail what happenned to our national media. My favorite is David Brock’s, “The Republican Noise Machine.”
When does he send out Joe Biden to call them “nattering nabobs of negativism?” Just asking.
When does he send out Joe Biden to call them “nattering nabobs of negativism?” Just asking.
I doubt we’ll see that — for a variety of reasons — but the comparison is apt. In the early 1970s, the political mood had shifted considerably to the right, but the establishment media still thought they were living in the “liberal consensus” of the postwar era.
Today, even though polls show overwhelming support for liberal policies and Democrats won the ‘06 and ‘08 elections by strong margins, the establishment media keeps insisting we’re still a “center-right country” and there’s no appetite for progressive change.
They missed out on the rightward trend of the early ’70s, and now they’ve missed out on the leftward trend of our time too. Same cluelessness, same insular bubble mentality, same results.
“Aside from parroting the party line of failed Republican economic policy, the networks seem allergic to inviting actual economist on their shows to debate the merits.”
Give George S. some due for having Reich and Krugman on regularly. I just love to see Krugman correcting Geo Will’s inane comments about economics. And George S. got Steele to admit that ReThugs don’t think government jobs are “jobs.” Or even construction jobs on projects funded by the government, because eventually the contracts will be finished. Of course that’s true, too, of all private sector construction, so I guess we can just add construction in general to jobs that are not “jobs.” Of course, in that light, Steele’s job is not really a job, nor was his job as Lt. Gov. of Maryland really a “job.” So what “jobs” has Steele held?
“And for those who are getting your news from John Stewart and Jay Leno — what do you know about anything?”
More than you, jj, as you get your news from O’Lielly, Lamebaugh and O’Shammity.
Mr. Gibbs, that dog won’t hunt — “Lost on cable TV every day last year?” Have you SEEN MSNBC the past 12 months? Some cable news folks were so much in the tank for you Saturday Nite Live even did a whole (very funny) sketch on it. For Gibbs to say that just flies in the face of reality.
Calderone at Politica provides a relevant quote from Joe Scarborough when he was asked in Dec if he was considering running for the Senate:
“Not right now. I think I’ll leave it to Chris Matthews to figure out whether or not he wants to jump in the [Pennsylvania] Senate race. Right now I’m having a lot more influence on the national debate than I did as a member of Congress. But you never know what’s going to happen down the road.” http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/
Or maybe it was Politico…it was one of those sites with a vowel at the end.
I will say this – yes, MSNBC is definitely pro-Obama. But I also think the MSM was continually looking to bring him down, be it with Rev Wright or the idiotic terrorist fist jab issue or him wearing ethnic Kenyan clothing (just to name a few examples). I didn’t see similar MSM assessments of Sarah Palin’s crazy preacher or Hagee, who was close to McCain. The reality is, most of the public didn’t bite. But that doesn’t mean the MSM didn’t try – they just want drama and apparently, a botched war, torture and a horrific response to a natural catastrophe in the previous 7 years weren’t enough for them.
Gibbs’ comments on the media are hardly some “schtick”. Instead, they are (I believe) and accurate commentary on how out-of-touch, how utterly disconnected, the Beltway reporters and gasbags have become. Further, Gibbs has clear statistical evidence to support his assertions.
“And it’s interesting that they’re attacking the messenger rather than the GOP message. ”
Dimwitted false dichotomy.
“I will say this – yes, MSNBC is definitely pro-Obama.”
Joe Scarborough is definitely pro-Obama?
Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow are not MSNBC.
“And for those who are getting your news from John Stewart and Jay Leno — what do you know about anything?”
Even those who *only* get their news from Jon Stewart — which is no one here — know far more than you about everything.
“If we really want a better, fully functional news media of real value, it might be more important to investigate *why* they are they way this way.”
It’s been done. Go read.
Time out here.MSNBC has only 2 shows that are not full of rightwingnuts-Olberman and Maddow of course ,the rest of the day that Contessa chick and the rest of those airheads seem like they are channeling Rush.They will put on any lowlife that will tow the rethuglican line.Give me a break.
The press is composed of a bunch of morons and it is great to see Obama and his team call them on it. Stupid phuckers wouldn’t pass my econ 101 class yet all we hear from them is more tax cuts and that government spending does not equal stimulus. Sometimes the stupid, it’s too much………
As soon as President Obama spoke today I listened and I totally agreed with him. As soon as it was over I immediately called by senator’s office who is a republican and I toll them to support this stimulus plan.
Throughout the entire election cycle obama was given a free ride by the MSM. They never asked him any of the tough questions about how he planned to do all of his feel good policies without breaking the bank, or even breaking even! Now they get the same treatment that EVERY president gets, they act like children. I was never impressed by him, and while I am not in the group that wants to see him fail, I just want him to face the same music that Bush, Clinton, and Reagan faced. He deserves no better than we have given before. He isn’t GOD!!! So far he seems to be a partisian, saying many times that “We Won”, just like the GOP did after Bush was re-elected. And his supporters are acting just like the GOP did then with their demands that the GOP do obamas bidding because they voted for him. Did they do the same for Bush? I think not. What goes around comes around. get used to it and stop your crying.
Anytime I hear people slagging the “mainstream media” I get nervous, because every corner of the airwaves from Rush Limbaugh to Indymedia to the UFO and JFK conspiracy people to 9/11 truthers to Sean Hannity to Michael Savage to the ANSWER people to the White Natioanlists the Anarchists groups to the FREEPERS, all rail against the “Main Stream Media” (which they often call MSM, since they use the phrase so often, they came up with an acronym)
If all of these folks are against the Main Stream Media, it must be doing something right.
When Mr Bush decided to “ignore the media” as some have put it, it was not seen as ‘insightful’ or ‘connecting with the public’. It was seen as disrespectful of democratic traditions. The treatment of the press, particularly the nixon-like “targeting’ of certain press people (a good example being the case of Greg Jackson, Ron Suskind’s research assistant who was detained by federal agents and had his notes confiscated), was one of the main problems I had with Mr Bush’s administration.
I do not have cable so maybe I am not up on all the problems they have in their newscasts… but a free press is a vital part of any democracy… a free press does not mean a “brilliant press” or a “genius press”. it means free… so that, at any one time, there is at least some one, somewhere, pointing out that the emperor has no clothes, and that the koolaid is poisoned. Maybe, for most of the year, they are asking kind of silly questions and missing the big picture.. but we need them.
Mr Obama himself has stated that his administration will make mistakes. Who is he going to rely on to point out those mistakes? His own echo chamber of aides, advisors, and followers? I have heard many times how he has surrounded himself with strong personalities, who will speak up about their differences with him…. but isn’t the free press, with all its problems, part of that?
Liberals dominate the media….this has been announced by Rush Limbaugh. And Thomas Sowell. And Ann Coulter. And Rich Lowry. Bill O’Reilly. And Robert Novak. And George Will.
And John Gibson. And Michelle Malkin. And David Brooks. And Tony Snow. And Tony Blankely. And Fred Barnes. And Britt Hume. And Larry Kudlow. And Sean Hannity. And David Horowitz. And William Kristol. And Hugh Hewitt. And William Buckley.
And Oliver North. And Joe Scarborough. And Pat Buchanan. And John McLaughlin. And Cal Thomas. And Joe Klein. And James Kilpatrick. And Tucker Carlson. And Deroy Murdock. And Michael Savage. And Charles Krauthammer. And Stephen Moore. And Alan Keyes.
And Gary Bauer. And Mort Kondracke. And Andrew Sullivan. And Nicholas von Hoffman. And Neil Cavuto. And Matt Drudge. And Mike Rosen. And Dave Kopel. And John Caldara. And Deborah Howell. And Richard Morin. And John Harris. And Gordon Liddy. And laura Ingraham. And Glen Beck.
And Larry Elder. And Tammy Bruce. And Neal Boortz. And FOX DJ ManPal. And Rusty Humphrey. And Laura Schlessinger.
Fonzi Scheme FTW!
I always feel so dirty when I read comments, but Fonzi Scheme just nailed it for me…cheers
Attention Cable News Execs: I am your target demographic. I watched wall-to-wall coverage of the Reagan assassination attempt, the Challenger disaster, earthquake coverage, 9/11, Katrina, etc. You are a great resource for breaking news.
Politics? Not so much. I’ll keep reading the Internets, kthanksbye!
You fool, David Axlefraud didn’t “run with this ball on the airplane”…he created the stupid attack on the press and his little toady Gibbs is the one repeating Axlfraud’s propaganda.
Besides, this attack on Cable news is total BS because any sentient being knows that CNN and MessNBC were practically members of Obama’s election campaign.
This will end up being a major blunder on Axlefraud’s part. He’s over playing his hand like most thugs eventually do, thinking he has this huge grass roots support for Obama…so big, that he can slap the press around.
All I can say is, keep it up Axlefraud. I can’t wait to see the press turn on their love child Obama.
Incredible reply Fonzi Scheme =)
You fuckers got it. Send me all your god damn money *******. O is going to give it to me anyway, be patriotic and send it before I cap your ***!
The media is run by businessmen. The stimulus package did have some items that could be labeled pork, and the people applying the label would know because of their pork adding ways. It’s not a perfect stimulus package, and the media is biased, meaning to me that there are few to no middle ground news reporters/networks. It’s either left or right, and that’s because they’re trying to cancel out each other, and some people see one side as their side, so what does they make of them. There’s news and there’s commentary and there’s yellow journalism. A great mix for a messed up economy.
“If all of these folks are against the Main Stream Media, it must be doing something right.”
Possibly the stupidest of all memes.
@tony bennett : 100 words of pure stupid
Carol Browner’s new council doesn’t have a white guy on it. You think she and Obama are discriminating against us white guys. How does it feel to be working for Izvestia??????
I think we should just get our news directly from the white house. why bother with the media middle men? The public has spoken. Thats why the newspapers are going under and the cable news shows get bad ratings. they have a blatant pro bush fascist bias and they keep lying about obama. obama is probably the greatest leader in human history, and these knuckle dragging flat earthers keeps criticizing him!
I for one will be trusting the white house and only the white house for all my news.